It’s a year since England’s Lionesses made history at Wembley Stadium, beating Germany 2-1 in extra-time to lift the Euro 2022 trophy in dramatic style and win the team’s first ever major tournament. It was a triumph that thrust so many of the victorious players into the spotlight, with murals painted up and down the country in their home cities and requests for photos while they were out doing their normal day-to-day activities suddenly much more common.
One of the more amusing anecdotes that highlighted the new-found fame for these England players came from Ella Toone, who scored the memorable opener in that final. The dust had barely settled on what the Lionesses had done when a picture of the Manchester United midfielder appeared in the papers – eating a pasty. "The absolute laughing stock of England camp," team-mate Beth Mead said with a chuckle when talking to GOAL about that story late last year.
A lot has changed on the pitch in these last 12 months, too. Injuries to players like Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby, plus the retirements of both Ellen White and Jill Scott, have changed the make-up of this England team. While Toone was a super sub during the Euros, she’s now a starter with a lot more responsibility on her shoulders.
But it’s fair to say that the talented playmaker is yet to make her mark in that role. Indeed, a look at the statistics shows that, with all of her key metrics (per 90 minutes) – touches, touches in the opposition’s box, chances created, shots on target, dribbles attempted, successful passes and successful passes in the final third – down at the 2023 Women’s World Cup compared to the Euros.
As the Lionesses prepare to complete the group stages of this tournament, there is demand on Toone to deliver more, to showcase those game-changing qualities that she so often did last year. With her team evidently struggling in the final third, another factor in her statistical drop-off, can she step up and help them really live up to their billing as World Cup contenders?